Do heat pumps save money? Most people don’t know how heat pumps work, or much about them at all. They are a great alternative to gas or electric furnaces and an alternative to an air conditioner. A heat pump is a single appliance that can keep your house at the right temperature, efficiently.
How Does a Heat Pump Work?
In a way, a heat pump is like the opposite of a fridge. It uses refrigerant to absorb, but instead of removing that heat from a space, like a fridge does, a heat pump moves the heat and releases it. A heat pump finds heat in the ground or in the air—even when it’s cold outside and moves that heat into your home.
Are heat pumps worth it in Canada? After all, it seems like our extreme cold temperatures would mean the heat pump has no heat to move. According to Natural Resources Canada, when it is -18°C outside, the air contains 85 percent of the heat it contained at 21°C. While the change in temperature makes a big difference to us, a heat pump still has plenty of heat to work with.
How Does a Heat Pump Work in Summer?
In the summer, the heat pump can run in reverse. It finds heat inside your home, absorbs it, and releases it outside or into the ground. It doesn’t matter how hot it is outside, because the heat pump is only concerned with moving heat outside—it doesn’t generate cold air or need any cold air to work. The result is simply less heat in your home, which keeps your home’s temperature down.
Do Heat Pumps Save Money?
Most heat pumps are electrically powered, so they will cost you some money on your utility bill. However, heat pumps are much more efficient than gas fired furnaces and even most air conditioners. It’s a lot easier to simply move the heat that exists, rather than trying to burn fuel to make heat or cold air, as a furnace or air conditioner does.
Plus, if you have a heat pump, especially a ground-fed heat pump, you may be able to get through your winters and summers without using your furnace or air conditioner at all. That saves you the expense of buying and maintaining two appliances. Instead, you can use your heat pump year-round.
Some people do choose to use their heat pump with a furnace. If so, you can get more consistent winter temperatures in your home and still replace your air conditioner outright with the heat pump, which can save you money overall.
Discover Heat Pumps from ClimateCare
If you have questions about heat pumps or are ready to get one installed in your home, reach out to us at ClimateCare. We can tell you if a heat pump will save you money, or if you’re better off with a traditional HVAC system.
